Anything Goes Fluff
by Jeremy Harper
Summary: Fluffy, romantic, and occasionally erotic little shorts from Nerima Ward.
1. Chapter 1

Anything Goes Fluff

Ranma ½ Short Romances

by

Jeremy Harper

Disclaimer – Ranma ½ is the creation of Rumiko Takahashi and is used without permission.

I.

Akane stood in the living room, glaring through the open engawa doors out at the back yard, her arms folded above her swollen stomach. It was gloomy today, dark and spitting – the foul weather a perfect match for her foul mood. She felt ungainly and horrid, and she made no attempt to conceal her ill-temper. Despite the threatening rain all of her family had left the house to avoid her – all save Ranma. He hovered in the doorway, watching her, his attention both irritating and shaming her. She knew she was behaving poorly, but her imbalanced hormones and frustration with her changing body made it hard for her to care.

_Besides, it's his fault I'm in this situation,_ she thought bitterly. A moment later she hunched her shoulders, ashamed of her unfair thoughts – she _had _been an enthusiastic participant in the conception of their first child, after all. She heard a gentle sigh and soft footsteps pad toward her. Strong arms encircled her from behind, one above her stomach, the other around her collar, just above her breasts. Akane stood stiffly in her husband's arms, but when he gently kissed the side of her neck she let out a soft breath and felt something within her relax ever so slightly.

"Akane," Ranma murmured. He laid another kiss on her neck, one more lingering. "What's wrong, _koi_?"

Akane pursed her lips and huffed loudly. "I'm ugly," she stated flatly.

"No, you're not!" Ranma protested.

"I am! Built like a brick? Ha! I'm built like a boulder. I waddle around like Mousse in his cursed form. It takes me_ hours_ to get out of a chair, sometimes. I feel so bloated and yucky and I'm not even out of my second trimester yet!." She tried to pull away from Ranma, but he refused to let her go, and anyway her effort was half-hearted.

"Akane," Ranma began when she settled down. "I know you're frustrated with not being as active as you usually are. I don't know what to tell you about that. But _koi_, you're not _ugly_. Far from it! You're beautiful!"

"Liar! I am. I'm fat, clumsy and ugly."

Ranma repressed a sigh. He knew some of Akane's feelings were caused by her constantly shifting body chemistry, but there were many times where he wished the Nanban mirror was still intact, so he could use it to go back in time and beat some sense into his younger self. "You're not fat," he said. "You're pregnant! Big difference there, Akane. In a few months this," he spread a hand on her belly, "will be gone, and any weight you've gained will be burned off from taking care of the kid, 'cause you know he or she is gonna be a troublemaker just like me." Akane let out a snorting giggle at that, despite her mood. Ranma smiled, encouraged, and kissed her neck again. "You've always been a klutz, so there's no difference there, and besides, you're graceful when it counts." Akane bristled a little, so Ranma hurried forward. "And you're not _ugly_. You've never been ugly, no matter what my dumb ass said in the past. You've always been beautiful. You're beauty's just changed a little, that's all." He closed his eyes, trying to think of how to described what seemed ineffable to him. "You feel so soft, so nice to touch that I can't get enough of you, and there are times where I swear that you're glowing." He slipped a hand between them and started rubbing the small of his wife's back; she felt tense, and wanted her to relax. "I'm telling you the truth. Please believe me, Akane."

Akane let out a soft sigh as she felt her temper slowly drain from her. She nestled back against her husband, closing her eyes as he wrapped her in his embrace and his love. She tilted back her head and looked up at him, asking for a kiss with her eyes. He happily gave it to her, a deep, swimming kiss, tongues caressing briefly. When they broke it Akane smiled. "Thank you," she said softly.

"You're welcome," he murmured back.

"I chased everyone else out of the house, didn't I?"

"'Fraid so."

"So we're by ourselves."

"Yup."

Akane's smile became a delightfully sinful grin. "It'd be a shame to waste this privacy, _koi_. I'm okay now, but I can think of a few things you could do for me that would make me feel even better."

Ranma smiled back, eyes flashing with pleasure and desire.

* * *

><p>Author's Note – Inspired by Pursemonger's 'Battle Scars', from her collection <em>Box of Chocolates<em>. Rough draft written in one sitting.


	2. Chapter 2

Anything Goes Fluff

A Ranma ½ fan fiction

by

Jeremy Harper

Disclaimer – Ranma ½ is the creation of Rumiko Takahashi and is used without permission.

II

"This training is stupid," Ranma muttered as he performed another push-up.

"Oh really?" said Akane, her tone arch and amused. "More stupid than the things your father put you through?"

"Well... no. But I'm not seeing the point to this. You're not heavy, Akane."

"That's not what you've said in the past, Ranma."

"You're never gonna let me live down any of the stupid things I used to say to you, are you?"

"Not just yet." Akane giggled. "Guilt tripping you is still too much fun!" Ranma grumbled and continued his push-ups.

Ranma and Akane were in the dojo, exercising. Well, _Ranma _was exercising, performing a slow, steady set of push-ups. Akane was observing, albeit from an unusual position – draped along Ranma's back, her body molded against his, her arms folded across the back of his shoulders. Her expression was one of self-satisfied amusement.

"So why exactly am I doing this?" asked Ranma.

"We're training your self-control and ability to concentrate," answered Akane.

"Huh." Ranma contemplated that for a moment. "You lying on top of me ain't that distracting, Akane."

Akane responded by _wriggling_ against him, pressing and rubbing her breasts firmly against his back. Ranma's eyes bulged and he nearly collapsed face-first onto the floor. "What the hell, Akane?" he gasped.

Akane caressed the left side of his bare stomach, tracing the cut of his abdominal muscles. "You were saying, Ranma?"

"When did you get sexy?" he rasped out, voice suddenly very hoarse and thick.

Akane shrugged, stroking her bare foot along the back of one of his calves. "I've _always_ been sexy. It's only recently that I've decided it's worth showing off that side of me." She toyed with his pig-tail, rolling it between her fingers, lifting it to expose the back of his neck. She kissed its nape – no mere peck, but an open-mouth kiss, warm and wet, her tongue teasing his skin. Ranma shuddered, letting out a soft hiss when she nipped the side of his neck. He dropped down on his stomach and shrugged her off his back. Akane gasped as in the next instant she found her self on her back, Ranma looming above her, his blue eyes blazing.

"This training is _stupid_," Ranma growled, bringing his face close to hers. "'Cause self-control is over-rated." Suddenly he was kissing her, hard and fierce. Akane laughed against his lips, throwing her arms around him and pulling him down on top of her.

* * *

><p>Author's Note – Inspired by a piece of fan art on Deviantart by Jessica Deaton (JessDeaton).<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Anything Goes Fluff

by

Jeremy Harper

Disclaimer – Ranma ½ is the creation of Rumiko Takahashi and is used without permission.

III

"I try to compliment you and-" Ranma sputtered indignantly. "Who says you're cute?"

"No one," Akane said simply as she walked away. "I'm not cute."

"I just meant I like your hair better. I mean... That is... Not that my taste makes any difference..." Ranma trailed off. Akane looked over her shoulder and saw him perched on the canal fence, facing the water and nervously twiddling his fingers.

Ranma hunched his shoulders, silently cursing himself for being an idiot when he heard Akane call his name. He turned on the fence to find her smiling gently at him. His throat went a little dry and his heart beat a little harder. "Thank you," she said. "That's nice to hear. Even if you don't mean it, it's nice."

Even as his heart sped up from her warm, beaming gaze, a part of Ranma felt stung and nettled by Akane's words. He scowled and looked away to keep from being captured by her eyes. "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it. Your hair _does_ look nice. You looked good with long hair, but short hair suits you better somehow." He gestured vaguely with his hands. "Can't really explain why. It just _does!_"

Akane said nothing for a moment, simply looking at Ranma seriously and intensely, her head tilted slightly, mouth quirked in a puzzled frown. "Ranma, may I ask you a question? And will you answer it honestly?" He looked up at her, his eyes widening a trifle, for in the short time he had known her he had never heard or seen her so earnest. He nodded his agreement. Akane took a breath and plunged forward. "Cute or uncute, Ranma. Which one am I?"

Ranma blinked. "You're both," he blurted out.

Akane glowered. "That's not an answer."

"It is! It's the truth. You're cute when you're smiling or happy, and you're not cute when you're angry or calling me a pervert." He frowned. "Which I'm not, by the way."

"You are!" she answered automatically. "You saw me naked!"

"Because you walked in on me!" He snapped his mouth shut and seemed to withdraw into himself. Akane blinked, startled by the brief flash of pain that had radiated from him. He stood on the fence and turned his back to her, folding his arms across his chest. "I don't want to fight with you. Not now. You wanted the truth – I told you it. You're cute and uncute." Ranma took a deep breath, seemingly steeling himself. "And you're always pretty, no matter how you act." He said that in a quick, low rush.

Akane's eyes became round as saucers. She was not certain if she heard correctly. "Pretty?" she whispered. "Do... do you mean that?" Ranma nodded silently, not turning around. He held himself with stiff, nervous tension. Akane ducked her head shyly, a blush warming her cheeks. "Thank you, Ranma."

Ranma shrugged dismissively. "You don't have to thank me. I'm telling the truth."

"Thank you anyway." Akane smiled. "You know, you're a pretty nice guy when you're not acting like a jerk."

"Feh." He hopped down next to her. "What are you talking about? I'm _never_ a jerk." Akane was about to retort when she noticed the sardonic twinkle in his eyes. She brought a hand to her mouth and giggled.

They walked home together, the silence between them surprisingly comfortable and companionable. The Tendo estate just came into sight when Akane stopped and spoke. "Ranma?"

"Yeah, Akane?"

"If... I try not to be angry with you, will you try not to be a jerk to me?"

"I... I'll try." He tugged his pig-tail. "I got a mouth, though. It goes faster than I think, sometimes."

"I've noticed," Akane said dryly. "And I have a temper. But as long as we try, maybe things will be all right."

Ranma thought over what she said and nodded. "Okay. Does that mean... you wanna be friends?"

Akane smiled at him. "Yeah, I do." Ranma's heart started beating faster again, and he found himself grinning like a goof back at her. "Oh, one more thing."

"What?"

Akane reched up and tapped him on the brow with her forefinger. It did not hurt, but she used enough force and he was sufficiently off guard that he fell back on his rump. "Blew it," she said sweetly and skipped away.

Ranma stared after her in disbelief. "That was uncute!" he shouted, trying for outrage, though the humor in his voice ruined the effect. When Akane blew a raspberry over her shoulder he could not help but laugh.

* * *

><p>Author's Note – In my opinion the magna is full of what I call 'tipping points', where the relationship between Ranma and Akane could have become much more romantic, if Takahashi had wanted to tell such a story. The earliest such one was probably when Ranma first told Akane that she was cute when she smiled. If I write many more of these fluff pieces, a good portion of them will probably be examinations of these tipping points. Hopefully it won't get too repetitive.<p>

Cheers.


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